I've always struggled with the concept of a glass cliff because it's so hard to distinguish from a "Sacrificial CEO" like Ellen Pao was for Reddit, where they purposefully hire a short-term CEO to make unpopular decisions they can then blame on that CEO after replacing them, but not actually change. I've wondered if because it's harder for women to break into the C Suite they're more likely to take that type of role, even knowing they'll be vilified and only live in the short-term - but riding the fat severance package to the next company that needs a scapegoat. Men serve in that role too, but if you come at the analysis from that angle I wonder if it explains the inconsistencies in studies looking at the glass cliff.